3 Five-Minute Yoga Sequences

December can be a happy time of year reconnecting with friends and
family over the holidays—but it can also be one of the busiest and
most disruptive to your typical day-to-day exercise schedule. Don’t
let decorating and holiday parties get in the way of your workout
routine. Instead, deploy these yoga sequences when you’ve only got 5
minutes for a workout, or when you need a short reprieve from helping
Santa wrap all those presents. Depending on what you most need within
a particular moment, here are three 5-minute sequences for: A. a
stronger core, B. more energy, and C. a peaceful mind. Who
knows, once you give yourself a 5 minute break, you may find you’ve
got time for even a little more yoga.

1. Begin in half boat pose (ardha navasana) by planting
your bum on the ground. Lift your legs so shins are parallel to the
floor. Bring hands into prayer in front of your chest. Gently lean
back through your upper torso but stay tall through your spine by
pressing your collarbone into your thumbs.

2. On an exhale, extend arms so they are also parallel with the
floor. On your next inhale, press through your feet and reach arms
forward to lower body to a “hover” just a couple inches above the
floor. On an exhale, come back to the starting position. Repeat 5-10
times, maintaining good form.

3. After your last repetition, release feet to the floor and
release palms 6-inches behind your bum. On an inhale, send hips to the
sky to come into a reverse tabletop (ardha purvottanasana).
Allow your head to gently rest back. Pause for a couple breaths here.
Try gently shifting weight from palms to soles of feet; this open up
the fronts of your shoulders.

4. On an exhale, drop your bum back to the floor to come back
into your half boat. Feel free to continue with the half boat
extensions as describes in step 2 OR extend your legs into full
boat (navasana) only if able to remain tall through your spine.
Relax your face as you pause for 3 breaths here. On an inhale, lower
limbs so you again “hover” a couple inches above the floor. Exhale to
rise back into your full boat. Repeat these full or half boat
extensions for 4-7 rounds. Again end with your reverse tabletop as a
way to relax.

1. From standing, step your right foot back into Warrior I
(Virabhadrasana I). Remember that hips should be squared off to
the front of the mat as best you can (i.e. send your right hip forward
so it meets the left). Reach through your fingertips but relax
shoulder blades down your back. Back foot is out at 45-degrees with
toes pointing forward. Press the outside edge of your back foot a
little more into the floor for a deeper right hip and leg stretch.

2. Open your arms by sending left arm forward and right
arm backwards to come into Warrior II (Virabhadrasana II). Back
foot now opens slightly to a 60-degree angle. Send your gaze over the
front fingers but keep reaching all the way through that back hand.

3. Flip your front palm open, reach forward, and “scoop
the air” up and back to come into Reverse Warrior (Viparita
Virabhadrasana). For now, maintain the bend in your front knee.
Press your left elbow towards the sky and think of opening up the left
side of your body. On an inhale, keep your upper body the same but now
straighten your front leg to come into reverse triangle. Pause
and think of reaching all the way down the left side of your body,
from toes to fingertips. Breathe and stretch!

4. Now keeping legs just how they are, inhale to reach
forward and down with your left palm, letting this carry your torso
towards the front of your mat. Keep tilting until left palm or fingers
lightly rest on your left shin. Just like in Warrior II, keep reaching
through both arms. Reach through your right hand, which is now
directed towards the sky—this helps take weight out of your bottom
palm. This is triangle (trikonasana)! Pause and breathe here,
keeping gaze neutral or looking up towards the top hand.

5. Bend front leg knee. Fluidly release left palm or
fingertips to the outside edge of your front foot, then release right
palm or fingertips to inside edge of front foot. Pause for a breath in
your low lunge (anjaneyasana), then step back foot up to meet
your front foot at the top of your mat. Relax in a forward fold with
knees slightly bent. Grab opposite elbows with your hands. Keep hold
of elbows as you gently roll up bottom to top of your spine. Once at
standing, release hands to the sky, and step back to Warrior I, to
begin repeating the sequence on your second side.

5 minutes to a Peaceful Mind

This restorative sequence helps the mind to calm and relax,
especially before bedtime.

1. Begin at seated. Connect soles of your feet to come into
bound angle (baddha konasana). Press your palms behind you to
pick up your body and move it closer to your feet. (Only move as close
as is comfortable.) Grab your feet with your hands. Inhale tall.
Exhale, and staying tall, press your collarbone forward. Inhale and
exhale again, this time allowing your upper body to round into the
pose. For extra restoration, use a yoga block under your forehead or
even stack up a bunch of cushions or pillows if you need more height
or do not have a block on hand. (Try this! It is wonderful!) Close
your eyes and relax your face. Pause here for at least one minute.

2. Inhale to gently lift your forehead off your props and come
back to seated. Extend your left leg, keeping right leg bent as it is
with knee dropping to the side. Connect right sole of foot with upper
left thigh. Now inhale to send right palm up and back, planting palm
just behind your bum. On your next breath, reach up through your left
fingertips and send hips to the sky to come into stargazer
(parivrrta parighasana). Press left sole of foot and right shin
into the floor.

3. Exhale to release your bum back to the floor. Inhale to reach
both hands tall, and square hips towards extended leg, to set up your
head-to-knee forward bend (janu sirsasana). Exhale to fold
forward and reach fingertips towards extended left leg. Relax into the
forward bend. Inhale to gently come back up, and switch legs for your
second side of stargazer to janu sirsasana.

4. Finally, end with another long, restorative bound angle
pose as in step 1.

Taking a little space of time just for yourself is a great way to
make the holidays more relaxing and enjoyable, rather than stressful.
Once you’ve taken your own yoga time-out, teach the sequence to a
friend or family member to share the holiday yoga spirit!

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Ann Mazur is an elite runner and founder of Runners Love Yoga, which
aims to bring yoga to the running community. Ann ran varsity track and
cross country runner for the University of Notre Dame, and has
continued to pursue her running career post-collegiately. She is
currently a lecturer of English at the University of Virginia, where
she also teaches yoga.